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It’s as Easy as 1-2-3
Today marks my 123rd written post!
It’s strange, but whenever I see numbers align to “123,” I instinctively see it as good luck. I believe it’s a sign from the Universe that something was meant to come together in harmony.
Remarkably, this sequence of numbers has a power over me that can instantaneously influence my day. A routine will be adjusted to accommodate this glowing symbolism of “good fate.” There is a distinct possibility that my thoughts on this are drawn from the seeming rightness it represents. When we are young, 1-2-3 indicates the right order. We all learn to count to ten and to pronounce the alphabet at a young age. Within this mindset, when we counted from 1-10 and said the alphabet, everything made sense. Any anxiety, even the tiniest amounts at this age, was a million miles away. Essentially, it was a psychological safety net.
The rhythm of life was good.
As I’ve grown older, when the grouping of these three numbers is revealed it happens, at times, in a more discreet and fun manner. These fun and random surprises are so often times the best as they serve as a special vindication of a preconceived idea or spontaneous decision. This could be change from a meal, an order number, the channel on the TV for a show one night, etc. Just life at work.
1-2-3 can also be viewed in a traditional sense, such as time, a price or as representing a beginning, a middle and an end. For example, this goes for giving a certain speech, doing the high jump (first seven steps or so, the turn and the jump), playing in a soccer game (first half, halftime, second half) and a meal (appetizer, main course, dessert), plus breakfast, lunch and dinner. These comforting examples are endless, but are there nonetheless.
The movie I have been waiting for ever since its first teaser trailer last summer is, “Man of Steel.” The music for the third trailer is described as, “An Ideal of Hope” as composed by movie score icon Hans Zimmer of Germany. Indeed, the following song is located in this blog’s “Amazing” section. However, please listen to it again here and see if you can distinguish how Zimmer guides us on his musical journey in a quiet to explosive 1-2-3 structure.
Is it a more reassuringly powerful instrumental now…?
Anyways, I better stop writing and get this thing posted. It’s 1:23 p.m. after all.
Plus, it’s my lunch break and there’s this girl I’ve been wanting to start a more fluid conversation with for a long time now. Okay, deep breath. It’s gonna be as easy as 1-2-3.
And Universe, I’ll be looking.
The Most Fun Way to Say #1
“quinn-uh-PEA-AKK”
“quinn-uh-PEA-akk”
These are two of the more popular attempts of pronouncing the name of my collegiate alma mater: Quinnipiac University (FYI-“QUINN-uh-pea-ack” in one smooth breath). My first visit to the university was in the middle of winter and it was so frigidly cold the temperature had to have frozen somewhere in the single digits. There was snow, but not the 40” avalanche that recently descended on the Hamden area. I loved it then and continue to love it today with nostalgia.
Speaking of which, I was a broadcast journalism major, focused in sports, and covered numerous sports teams during my four year residence, one of which was men’s ice hockey. This team was particularly exciting because it was the most popular sports team on campus and therefore created an incredibly electric atmosphere for each of their icy battles against the best of the Ivy League and others in the ECAC.
Memories are coming back of midweek player and coach interviews, game day dinners in the arena with my fellow press corps, recording the game for highlights, post-game interviews and the hours spent in the editing room in the School of Communications. These reports were not only for school projects and school television shows, but also for The Palestra online, for which I was a paid reporter/One Man Band. Good times indeed! If only I could be covering the team this season…
While there were some thrilling moments from my time as a student, those teams may have been more responsible for building the foundation for what is transpiring during the 2012/2013 season thus far with the same head coach at the helm, Rand Pecknold.
As declared today, February 11, 2013, the Quinnipiac University Men’s Hockey team has, for the first time in school history been ranked…
(USCHO.com)
Quinnipiac is currently the #1 college hockey team in the country! For all of us alums, this is not only amazing, but also quite a bit surreal. To see them listed in the top spot atop the giants of college hockey from around the United States is truly a sight to witness.
Here is a quick statistical rundown:
–The longest unbeaten streak in America (21)
–Undefeated in their ECAC league play (14-0-2)
–Four of their last six regular season games are at home
To quote from a local Ohio favorite of mine, “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good®“. To my fellow Bobcats past and present, we all could substitute our beloved college into that phrase and it too would be a perfect fit.
For those who are studying and have graduated from this university, the word “Quinnipiac” signifies many things: Relaxing on the quad on a Saturday or Tuesday afternoon, studying in groups at the iconic Arnold Bernhard Library, ordering a mouthwatering bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from the cafeteria after an 8:00 a.m. science class, adventures in New Haven on Friday & Saturday nights (Toads!), socializing in the many dorms, dressing up in a pink skirt and a tight pink tank top and singing “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” in front of all the fraternities and sororities with two happy backup dancers (my picture made the yearbook!) and so on.
Now, Quinnipiac also means the best men’s college ice hockey team in the country.
Go Bobcats!
From the Moon to the Abyss
“…one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11 proclaimed these words on the surface of the moon on this day back in 1969. This moment defined the United States as the world leader in space travel. For the first time in history, humans had landed on the moon. We were not on top of the world, we were above it. The Space Race was over and the United States had won. We were #1.
Nearly a decade was dedicated to achieving the mission of venturing not only into space, but a place we could only before look at with wide-eyed wonderment and curiosity: the moon. A challenge was presented and with hard work and determination completed despite incredible obstacles. It was inspiring and triumphant. (Cue “The Launch” from the ‘Armageddon’ soundtrack). It was an American moment.
Fast forward to July 20, 2012 and it feels as if we’ve missed our target. Instead, we’re slowly floating away from the place we know we should be landing in order to make groundbreaking new discoveries. Current policy needs dramatic changes and some politicians need to be replaced. The mission isn’t clear and there is nobody leading the charge. This all feels uneasy and even downright wrong to many. Quite frankly, it feels un-American in the sense that struggling in all the ways we are is what other countries do, but not US.
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” President John F. Kennedy
Who will be the big dreamer and have that winning mentality to lead a nation into a space we’ve never been before? The American people want it, the country deserves it and the world needs it. The United States and its people need a defining moment, one that will change the course of history for the better as the U.S. has done so many times in its young and impressive history. In 1969, the U.S. was #1. It takes exceptionally hard work and vision to remain the best. The question is who has the flashlight to direct us out of the darkness and proudly plant the American flag into the ground to declare victory and superiority like three brave astronauts did 43 years ago on the moon? I repeat, the moon.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 